You, Are Right Here

Military Advisor Ji's palm, brimming with spiritual energy, didn't dissipate its power; he remained cautious. He shook the silk cloth, revealing it fully.

However, the silk was empty. But his eyes lit up, because as the silk unfolded, he saw a picture drawn on one side of it.

He spread the silk flat on the ground and stared intently. After a while, he chuckled darkly. "Heh heh, so that's why you buy so many clothes every time you come back. You were secretly drawing a picture on them somewhere in the city. You really are clever. How could I possibly prevent you from bringing this in? You didn't dare keep this picture in the house, afraid I'd accidentally find it. So you moved it here among these flowers, burying it in a remote spot. Even if I came to weed, plant flowers, or even lie down here, I wouldn't have noticed. But the picture's been buried for too long, and the flower roots have lost moisture. It's inevitable that they'd start to wither. So you've been studying this picture here, sitting or lying down?"

At that moment, a map was clearly drawn on one side of Black Robe, a map of the mountains near North City. To be sure, many shops in the city sold this kind of map. It wasn't a military map, but a map for merchants and nearby residents. These maps depicted the geography of the nearby Great Green Mountains and some shortcuts to the mountains. But those weren't the main things. The main thing was that the map marked what kind of demonic beasts could be found within a certain distance of the nearby mountains, and the types of demonic beasts, and so on. It was mainly to help nearby residents and passing merchants understand the Great Green Mountains, so they wouldn't stray too deep or go the wrong way, never to return.

There were two sources for this kind of map. One was that the military would release some information. The military had to enter the mountains every year to hunt some demonic beasts, partly to train soldiers and partly to prevent too many demonic beasts from appearing on the edge of the Great Green Mountains. Although these demonic beasts weren't too high-level, they were still deadly to ordinary mortals. The other source was some commercial guilds. They would also explore the Great Green Mountains, and in the process of exploration, they gradually formed their own maps.

But the map on this piece of black cloth wasn't the kind that was sold. It must have been drawn specifically to make it difficult for others to discover, easily hidden among clothing.

Military Advisor Ji no longer cared about the source of the map. He figured that Hong Linying probably didn't know about it. This was Li Yan's way of protecting himself; he wouldn't let others know his whereabouts. What he cared about now was how to figure out the boy's intentions from this map. So he turned it over and over, examining it carefully.

After a while, Military Advisor Ji was even more delighted. "Heh heh, I knew you were so clever, but you didn't know there was such a thing as Divine Sense."

After examining it carefully, he didn't find much. It was only when he picked it up and looked at it carefully in the sunlight, squinting, that he discovered faint traces on the black cloth, but he couldn't see them clearly. So he simply released Divine Sense to probe the black cloth. Immediately, several lines were reflected in his Divine Sense. The scratches were shallow and uneven, but one thicker line was very obvious. It was a line that came out of the North City gate not far away, and followed a small path to the west side of the Great Green Mountains, finally stopping about seventy or eighty miles deep, in a place marked as having very few demonic beasts.

These lines should be from long-term

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use of fingers or fingernails to trace the black cloth map over a long period of time. But it was difficult for the fabric to retain these unintentional scratches. It was only after Military Advisor Ji used Divine Sense that they immediately appeared.

Military Advisor Ji used Divine Sense to repeatedly observe the thicker line. After a while, he smiled. He knew that the reason why this line was thicker than the others was because it had been traced over the most times, the overlapping scratches forming a thicker line. The reason for this was that, among these lines, this was the one he had considered the most, and was the most likely. Moreover, it was marked as having very few demonic beasts, making it a good place to hide.

"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't escape back to your hometown so easily. That would be too easy to find. Sure enough, your clothes and these flowers were all for a purpose."

Military Advisor Ji tucked the black cloth into his arms and shot out of the valley, arriving at the open space outside. He raised his voice and summoned Chen An and Li Yin. With expressions of unease, he whispered a few instructions to them, and then quickly swept down the mountain.

After receiving the order, Chen An and Li Yin also showed thoughtful expressions on their faces. They entered the forest, led out their horses, and rode down the mountain.

They had received Military Advisor Ji's order to quietly go to Li Family Village at the foot of the Great Green Mountains and carefully investigate the situation in the village. If they found Li Yan in the village, one would stay to guard it, and the other would return to report to him. Although Military Advisor Ji was basically certain that Li Yan would not return to the village, he still didn't want to let go of any possibility.

After Military Advisor Ji went down the mountain, he didn't immediately follow the map to find Li Yan. Instead, he went into the city again and secretly searched around Natural Wine House and Ironware Pavilion, confirming that Li Yan wasn't there before he felt relieved.

Military Advisor Ji looked at the sky. It was almost noon. He got some food at Natural Wine House, ate a simple meal, and then got up and went outside the city.

The mountain road was rugged and full of thorns. Like many mountain roads leading into the Great Green Mountains, not many people usually walked this road. The weeds and vines in the mountains grew extremely fast, and soon the branches and stems would crisscross and cover the small path that someone had occasionally opened up before.

In the early summer noon, the mountains were already starting to get hot. Occasionally, a breeze would blow, bringing a hint of coolness. The wind was mixed with the scent of wildflowers, giving a comfortable feeling.

But the person walking through it at this time didn't feel very good. Military Advisor Ji, wearing a black robe and with a "dark" complexion, would occasionally bend down to search for something before continuing forward. Now his face was covered in sweat.

Here, Divine Sense didn't seem to be very useful. According to the map, the place he was going was about seventy or eighty miles away after turning off the main road. It wasn't too far, especially for someone with his skills. But below was a dense thicket of thorns, and above was a forest of huge canopies. As he walked, many small paths would branch out from time to time. These small paths were covered with thorns and bushes, and if he wasn't careful, he would go in the wrong direction, and he might find himself far away from his intended location.

Although with

his current spiritual power, he could fly across the ground, but that would inevitably startle the birds and beasts in the forest. The boy might hear it from afar and become a "startled bird," making it more difficult for him to find him. Therefore, he had to proceed carefully, so as to capture Li Yan in one fell swoop.

Looking at the bushes on the ground, the veins on Military Advisor Ji's forehead throbbed. It was obvious that someone had tampered with them again. He had been walking cautiously for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and he had already encountered this situation several times. This time, he had to adjust his direction again. That boy could make disguises and traps, and Divine Sense couldn't detect these mechanical changes. Divine Sense could only replace the eyes to see more clearly or further. Of course, with Military Advisor Ji's current spiritual power, he couldn't make Divine Sense see further than his eyes. But seeing clearly was seeing clearly. Whether it was right or wrong, true or false, still needed to be judged by humans.

Since he entered the mountain, in a short distance of about twenty miles, he had adjusted his direction at least four times. Once, he almost startled the birds in the forest. Although he didn't think Li Yan could see him here, he didn't dare to be careless. Now he had a new understanding of Li Yan, and knew that this boy was patient and his mind might not be inferior to his. Even he was a little shaken now, and couldn't guarantee that Li Yan was going to the place marked on the map. Maybe he changed direction halfway or hid halfway.

This was still because he lacked some detailed understanding of Li Yan. Li Yan had followed the adults in the village into the mountains to hunt since he was a child. Half of the village's income came from hunting, so they had a set of hunting methods passed down from their ancestors. This kind of disguise and trap was just something they often did. Otherwise, with the alertness of demonic beasts, even those that hadn't entered the ranks, their innate vigilance would be extremely difficult to capture.

Although Military Advisor Ji's Seeker Lineage also had methods of hiding and searching, they mainly focused on avoiding demonic beasts, and their searching methods were aimed at various clues left by Immortals.

Time passed little by little, and the sun slowly moved westward. As night was about to fall, he finally arrived at the halfway point of a mountain peak without disturbing too many birds and beasts.

Military Advisor Ji was now lying in the crown leaves of a giant tree, looking up ahead. About a mile away from him, at the halfway point of the mountain peak, there was a platform of about seven or eight zhang. Several giant pine trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and there was a faint sound of pine waves. At this time, under a pine tree, a person was sitting and eating something.

Military Advisor Ji used his spiritual power to surge into his eyes, staring intently. The person was also wearing a black robe, sitting on a huge rock under the pine tree, eating something bit by bit, looking around from time to time. Behind him was the cliff.

"You're here, then?" Military Advisor Ji watched for a while, and the person was indeed Li Yan. He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Although there are few demonic beasts here, it's a good place to hide. But on this mountainside, where else can you go?"

Military Advisor Ji didn't act immediately while lying in the giant canopy. He was considering how to strike with one blow, because Li Yan was sitting on the rock under the giant pine tree, and the cliff behind him was very close. As for how deep the cliff was, he couldn't judge it based on the direction he came from. It was possible that he had been climbing uphill since he entered the mountain, but this side was just a gentle slope.

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If he couldn't capture Li Yan with one blow, and Li Yan was forced into a dead end, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't fight to the death. In a desperate situation, all he had to do was turn around and enter the cliff. At that time, he would have lost everything.

He just lay there quietly in the giant crown leaves, observing. After Li Yan on the mountain finished eating, he took out a water bag from the package on the ground and took a sip. Then he put the water bag on the edge of the stone slab at his feet.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear something and abruptly dropped to the ground. This startled Military Advisor Ji.

He clearly hadn't made any noise just now. Did this boy discover him? Then he saw Li Yan lying on the ground, slowly raising his head slightly, his eyes slowly looking towards him. His heart suddenly rose. "Damn it, this boy really found me. How did he find me?" Military Advisor Ji cursed inwardly. Since he had been discovered, he had to speak out. Yes, "speak out." This was also a method he had just calculated. The distance was too far, and it was about a mile from bottom to top. No matter what, he couldn't get to Li Yan's front and capture this boy in the time it took for Li Yan to turn around.

Just as he was about to stand up and stabilize Li Yan, he suddenly felt that something was wrong again. The boy's eyes left here and slowly swept to the left side of his body, and his eyes began to become unusually vigilant.

"Could there be someone else on my left? No, I searched the area when I first arrived and didn't find anything there, so I hid here. Is this boy too sensitive? Maybe he's just seeing ghosts." So, Military Advisor Ji stabilized his body again and waited to see what to do next.

Sure enough, after a while, Li Yan on the mountainside looked around again, not only on the left side of Military Advisor Ji's current position, but also carefully on the right side. Then he slowly climbed up again.

"Damn, he's really nervous. This boy is a bit neurotic. He's like this with every little thing." Military Advisor Ji was furious in his heart and couldn't help but curse inwardly. He almost exposed his whereabouts just now. If he had really gone out and hadn't stabilized the boy, he would have regretted it.

At this time, Li Yan on the mountainside stood up and looked around again, then listened carefully once more. Finally, he slumped back onto the boulder and looked down, hastily grabbing the water bag he'd just set beside him. It turned out his sudden sprawl had knocked over the carelessly placed, unsealed water bag on the edge of the boulder. Clear water was now flowing from the bag's opening. Though there were clear springs in the mountains, none were nearby, and it was still quite a distance to fetch more water.

Li Yan quickly picked up the water bag, plugged it with the stopper, and shook it by his ear, and couldn't help but sigh.

And just at this moment, Military Advisor Ji on the giant canopy unexpectedly discovered a situation. As the water in the water bag poured out, the color of the rock next to Li Yan was different. His heart moved, and he once again concentrated his spiritual power and looked over, carefully looking for a while, and couldn't help but be shocked.